Denise has been the Program Director for the Association since 1994. During that time she has developed all of WPWA's educational programs and many of the recreational ones. She is also responsible for the WPWA's water quality monitoring programs, including the more recent stream monitoring. Denise is a master's candidate in Environmental Education at the University of Rhode Island. Her specialty is watershed education. She has taught both children and adults about ecosystems, large and small. She has worked with the Conservation Districts in RI as the exclusive instructor for the Active Watershed Education (AWESome!) Curriculum. In the last five years she has revamped the curriculum, expanding it into a 3-credit, graduate-level course, which she teaches.

Denise has a background in botany and leads nature hikes and canoe trips for the RI Wild Plant Society and the Narragansett Chapter of the Appalachia Mountain Club, as well as WPWA. As avid outdoors woman, she also leads hikes and backpacks in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Always eager to share her skills, Denise instructs at leadership development training and other instructional workshops. She has presented at New England Environmental Education Alliance Conferences. Denise sits on the RI Environmental Education Association's board, the RI Trail Advisory Committee, and the Richmond Land Trust.